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About Me

I’ve been cooking as long as I can remember, professionally since I was 17. I love everything about food, and spent my life pursuing it. I was an apprentice pastry chef in Innsbruck Austria before I even went to cooking school. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America I became a full fledged Pastry Chef for a high end country club, and love it as I did there was so much more to be done, which eventually led me to catering. My catering company is just what I want it to be; I get to do something different everyday either in the kitchen or helping a bride design her ideal wedding or just researching new recipes out of my own imagination.
If you would like more details about my career, please the About page on my website www.SonomaCaterers.com.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Okay, I've been bad, I forgot to re-post my Petaluma Post articles for the past few months, so let's start with Thanksgiving!

During the month of November we all seem to eat a lot of
turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries, yams…etc. We get together with friends, with our clubs,
and with family, with all the menus being a very slight variation on the turkey
day theme. But, do you really have to do
the same menu over and over? Have some
fun with it! Use the “same” ingredients
but in different ways; make it a play on words; use something in a different
way

Here are a few of my ideas:

Of course you must have Turkey…..wild turkey… Wild Turkey
BOURBON! And of course cranberries. Make a cocktail. A couple of year ago I created a “Happy
Pilgrim”, which made our thanksgiving very happy! It was inspired when I couldn’t find a cocktail
that really paired well with Thanksgiving, and this one fits the bill very
well.

Happy Pilgrim

1 shot wild turkey
bourbon

1 shot ginger beer

2 shots cranberry
juice

1/3 shot blood orange
bitters

Shake and serve over
crushed ice

Garnish with a fresh
cranberry

An extra note on this one: When I selected Wild Turkey it
was just for the turkey theme; I didn’t have the best impression of Wild
Turkey, it just seemed like a lower shelf product, but it is actually quite
good, and I’ve found it getting increased respect from craft bartenders.

Let’s go to yams, I’m not talking marshmallow or even maple
syrup. Let’s talk salad. Thanksgiving is a very rich meal, so cut it
with some healthy greens. Tell your family you’re bringing roasted yams and
pecan pie! Well maybe don’t tell them
that, I know hubby would be disappointed with salad instead of pie! But it’s still a great addition to the
holiday feast.

Baby Arugula and
Chèvre Salad with Yams Croutons and Candied Pecans

6 oz wild baby arugula

2 oz Chèvre

Candied Pecan (see recipe below)

Yam Croutons (see recipe below)

Sherry Vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Just toss the arugula, chèvre and vinaigrette, and finish
with the pecans and croutons.

Yam Croutons

1 large yam cut into ½” cubes

1 Tbs olive oil

Salt and pepper

Roast your yam croutons, turning often to allow to brown and
crisp evenly (they’ll get brown and slightly crispy on the outside, but stay
soft in the center). While their baking
make your vinaigrette by combining the sherry vinegar, olive oil, honey and
S&P. Allow crouton to cook 10 to15
minutes. You can allow the croutons to
cool or toss and serve immediately for a warm salad.

Candied Pecans (aka
Pralines)

¾ cup pecans

½ cup sugar

Water to cover

Place all in heavy bottomed pot and cover with water, and
boil till small thick bubbles (10-12 minutes).
Drain and place on greased sheet pan, then bake at 350 degrees for 15 to
20 minutes, until dark in color, stirring every 5 minutes. NOTE: you only need about a third this volume
for the salad recipe above, but hey, who doesn’t want extra pralines?

Sherry Vinaigrette

¼ cup sherry vinegar

½ cup olive oil

2 Tbl honey

Salt and Pepper to
taste

Blend well

As for stuffing, if you have read my articles in the past
you know I love stuffing. But change it
up by bringing stuffed apples for dessert.

Baked Stuffed Apples

8 large, Granny Smith Apples

4 Tbs butter

8 Tbs brown Sugar

¼ cup chopped nuts (recommend pecans or walnuts)

½ tsp Cinnamon

Place the apples in baking dish, if they do not stand up
easily trim bottoms to balance.

Cut off the top quarter of the apple, then using a melon
baller, scoop out the core with the apples.
Combine all other ingredients, and mix till crumbly. Pack into apple centers.

Bake at 350 degree for 15-20 minutes until the apples are
knife tip tender. Serve with vanilla ice cream

What about your pumpkin pie, does pie have to be dessert?
What about hand pies, like empanadas. Do
an hors d’oeuvre and start the meal with the usual ending.

Pumpkin Empanadas
with Truffle and Parmesan

1 batch of your favorite pie dough - or purchased pie dough
sheets

Pumpkin Empanadas

1 cup canned pumpkin

4 oz grated parmesan

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp white truffle oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix pumpkin, parmesan and spices to for a thick paste; taste
test, some pumpkin need more salt. Using
a round cutter, cut out 2½” circles from the pie dough, an place 1 tablespoon
of filling in each circle. Egg wash the
edges, and seal with your fingers or a fork.
Chill for about 30 minutes (they freeze great if you would like to make
them for the future). When ready to
bake, lay out on a cookie sheet, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes,
until golden.

Now let me think about mashed potatoes. NO. STOP.
My family will never forgive me if I mess with the mashed potatoes!